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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-07 Select Board Minutes06r.�Q�l Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Select Board Date: 2025-01-07 Building: Reading Town Hall Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Time: 7:00 PM Location: Select Board Meeting Room Session: Open Session Version: Final i=ce J Karen Herrick, Chris Haley, Mark Dockser, Melissa Murphy, Carlo Bacci @ 8:05 PM. Members - Not Present: Others Present: Town Manager Matt Kraunelis, Executive Assistant Caitlin Nocella, Peter Kramer, Tom Guttadauro, Pat Crowley, Kaden Barcikowski, Patty McGrath, Jim Riley, Angela Binda, Nancy Docktor, Chuck Tirone, Assistant Town Manager Jayne Wellman, Ian Nelson, Chris Kowaleski, Janet Dubow, Chief Clark, Chief Burns Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Caitlin Nocella Topics of Discussion: Herrick called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Public Comment Peter Kramer expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the Town plows snow Tom Guttadauro is concerned about the MBTXs recent fling with the Conservation Commission in which they are proposing to build a turnaround track. Pat Crowley, Kaden Barcikowski, Patty McGrath, and Jim Riley also expressed their concerns with the MBTA filing. Angela Binda feels the board committed an Open Meeting Law violation on December Td when Bacci started speaking about his meeting with Edge Sports that wasn't on the agenda. No official complaint has been filed. Nancy Docktor congratulated Town Manager Kraunelis on his one-year anniversary as Town Manager. Chuck Tirone, Conservation Administrator, urged all the speakers about the MBTA filing to come to the Conservation Commission meeting tomorrow night and speak again. The board gave their liaison reports and updated the community on many other boards and committees and their current events. The Killam School Building Committee has selected a hybrid geothermal heating system option for the project, and the final project cost estimate will be lower than initially expected. A generous $100,000 donation was made to the Trails Committee to support trail maintenance and development from residents Diane Avery Weggle and Bob Waggle. Town Manager Report Kraunelis noted the MBTA is pursuing plans to add a turnaround track that has raised community concerns. He provided updates on upcoming town meeting preparations and highlighted a retiring DPW employee after 37 years of service. Public Hearing -Amend FY25 Classification Plan Haley read the hearing notice to open the public hearing. Kraunelis explained the one amendment change (Treasurer Analyst) and noted that Town Meeting approved this in November. Haley moved to close the public hearing on the FY25 Classification Plan. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with a 4-0 vote. Haley moved to approve the amendments to the FY25 Classification Plan. The motion was seconded by Herrick and approved with a 4-0 vote. j gale Scout Awards Eagle Scout Master Ian Nelson presented the six scouts that recently achieved their Eagle Scout Awards. The scouts did the following projects that earned them this award: Everett Jack Nelson - Bridge Replacement at Bare Meadow (Jack removed and installed a new foot bridge in the Bare Meadow conservation area). Michael Young - Mini -Libraries Install (Michael finished and installed 12 mini -libraries in the City of Lynn, coordinating with the REAL program Charity Org). Alexander Manfred Downer- Mass Audubon Vegetable Garden (Alex removed an old structure and re -built a raised plant garden for education purposes, including a protective fencing). Joshua Anthony Boran - Book Cart and Book Bags (Josh built rolling library carts for the Reading Food Pantry to facilitate their customers being able to access their library of books). Charles Weld - Reading Town Forest Tree Planting - (Charlie saw over 150 saplings planted in the Reading Town Forest as part of their revitalization project). John Robert House - Reading Town Forest Tree Planting (John saw approximately a dozen mature trees planting on Scrub Hill in the Reading Town Forest as part of their revitalization project). Senior Pro eeny Tax Worker Program Presentation Chris Kowaleski and Janet Dubow gave the board a presentation about the changes to the proposed Senior Tax Worker Program, which aims to encourage seniors to volunteer for the town, in exchange for a property tax abatement. The program would increase the age requirement to 60+, raise the hourly wage from $8 to $15, and increase the income Page 12 guidelines to $75,300 for single individuals and $102,000 for married couples. The program would start with 10 positions and could grow to 30 or more in the future. The total program funding is $15,750 with a $10,500 contribution from the Town and $5,250 contribution from the Burbank Trust Fund. For more details, please find the full presentation in the Select Board packet on the town website. Performance Review of Town Manager The board members expressed their concerns and expectations for the Town Manager's leadership, communication, and engagement. They emphasized the need for him to be more proactive and take charge of projects, rather than just being reactive. The board also discussed the importance of communication and the need for the Town Manager to be more engaging in meetings. They appreciated Kraunelis' efforts in the past year but expressed the need for improvement in the future. Several staff members were present to show their support for Kraunelis. Police Chief Clark and Fire Chief Burns spoke and expressed their satisfaction working with Kraunelis and hopes to see him continue to be Town Manager. Future Agendas The board discussed future agenda items. Minutes Haley moved to approve the meeting minutes from October 29, 2024 as amended. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with a 5-0 vote. Haley moved to approve the meeting minutes from December 10, 2024 as amended. The motion was seconded by Dockser and approved with a 5-0 vote. Executive Session Haley moved to enter executive session at 9:21 PM, under Purpose 3 to discussion of strategy with respect to Town of Reading v. Delphi Construction, Inc and Davenport v. Town of Reading, because an open session may have a detrimental effect on the Town's litigating position in these cases, and under Purpose 2 to conduct a strategy session in preparation for negotiations with the Town Manager, to invite Town Counsel to attend the entire executive session, Matthew Kraunelis and Caitlin Nocella to attend the portion of the executive session held under Purpose 3 only, and Chief Clark to attend the portion of the meeting relative to Town of Reading v. Delphi only, and to adjourn from executive session and not to return to open session. The motion was seconded by Herrick and approved with a unanimous roll call vote. Pa9c 13